As a fan of Jane Austen, this is a great way to reconnect with my favourite characters! I was afraid to lose all the exceptional qualities that make Pride and Prejudice one of the best books ever written, but Janice Hadlow is amazing. She has her own voice, and yet it almost sounds like a lost 18th century manuscript.

It took me a while to get to this book and in the meantime, I heard so many great things about it, that it made me quite excited to get to it. Sadly, my taste must just differ from everyone else, to me this book was too slow, I found being in Mary's head unbearable for the duration and overall it was just too long.

Following on from my love of Pride and Prejudice pastiches and re-imaginings, I’m also happy to see sequels to the novel, particularly those focussing on the less central characters from the original story. Mary Bennet, in this case, was often overlooked or a source of humour in the novel, so it’s good to see her take centre stage in this book, whose style would do Jane Austen proud.

The first part of the book is a retelling of the early chapters of the original novel, and while it’s good to see events from Mary’s point of view and gain insight into her character, I am far more taken by the later parts of the book, set two years later and following what happens to Mary after a change in the fortunes of those still living at Longbourne. Having said that, I’m very taken with the description of how Mary got her glasses and saddened to see how her friendship with the son of the oculist who fitted them leads to an eventual decline in her self-confidence.

As with Jane and Lizzy, it is Mary’s aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, who eventually come to Mary’s rescue after she has made several attempts to find a new place for herself beyond Longbourne. They first whisk her off to London, where she explores the city, particularly the area around Cheapside, and is encouraged to try new styles of clothes and patterns of fabric by Mrs Gardiner, and also by Mr Hayward, a young lawyer friend of the Gardiners. Mr Hayward introduces Mary to poetry, particularly that of William Wordsworth, and soon the friends are planning a trip to the Lake District to visit the scenes of some of his most famous poems for themselves.

As with any Austen novel, there is also conflict. Mary finds herself the object of the attentions of another suitor – a friend to Mr Hayward – one in whom Miss Bingley has also declared an interest. When the two parties meet in the Lake District, Mary is faced with a series of dilemmas – familiar to many an Austen heroine – but in the end, love finds a way.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and enjoyed meeting so many familiar characters all over again, particularly in the scenes set after the ending of Pride and Prejudice. It was interesting to see how the various marriages from the book had turned out, and also to find out what had happened to Kitty. This is a debut novel, and I fully expect great things to come from the author in later stories.

This was such a beautiful book and I was both laughing and crying throughout. The story follows what happens to Mary Bennett after the marriages of her older sisters and then the death of her father. Travelling between the homes of her sisters and her former home at Longbourn she is depressed and fearful of the future before eventually finding relief and the possibility of romance while at the home of her uncle and aunt in London.

The writing was beautiful and I loved how Mary blossomed and gained in confidence as the story progressed. There were sad and bittersweet moments and my perceptions of the original novel and its characters was challenged considerably. Does Mary get her happy ever after....you will have to read the story to find out but its worth it.

Mary, the bookish, pedantic, insensitive Bennet sister gets a makeover in this enjoyable novel by Janice Hadlow, who delves behind the one-dimensional figure we see in Pride and Prejudice to show why Mary is the way she is - and gives her a rich life of her own.

Not pretty, not a pair like Lizzie and Jane or Lydia and Kitty, Mary's emotional growth is stunted by her mother's casual cruelty towards her, particularly over her less-than-stunning looks (and spectacles! Horror!, and her father's lack of attention or praise, however much Mary tries to impress him.

She turns to books to make sense of life, but they don't seem to be reliable guides to relationships with other people. Mary seems fated to be an unmarried dependent daughter - even worse-off than Charlotte, who whisks the uninspiring Mr Collins away from under her nose.

But her life changes when she goes to stay with her aunt and uncle Gardiner and she meets a young man who's interested in her - very new territory for Mary.

The first section follows the plot of P&P, while giving us the view from behind the scenes. The author gives us plenty of little P&P references, which I enjoyed greatly, and even reproduces lines from the book. Some reviewers have disliked this, but I found it intriguing and had a copy of P&P open to follow the parallel stories, which helped show the different viewpoints of Austen's and Hadlow's ways of showing the same scenes.

When the author breaks away from the Austen story, Mary comes into her own as a character and begins to change and grow. The plot here is fairly standard - girl meets nice boy, girl meets unsuitable boy, there's a misunderstanding and girl loses nice boy, will they realise they're right for each other?

But Hadlow's light touch means that her retelling of the old story largely avoids being formulaic, and Mary comes across as a likeable, if occasionally foolish, young woman.

For Austen fans.

Whether it's from multiple readings of the book or casual watching of TV and film adaptations, most of us know Jane Austen's story of the Bennet family of Longbourn; of Mrs Bennet's desperate ploys to marry off her five daughters, of the happy-ever-after romances of elder sisters Jane and Elizabeth, and the wild, impetuous, embarrassing (totally teenage) behaviour of youngest sisters, Lydia.and Kitty. But what about the middle sister, Mary?

In any other family Mary Bennet would have been considered, if not pretty, at least attractive, but with four sisters - beautiful, witty, vivacious, or just younger - she's overlooked by family, friends and, most importantly, any young men she meets as the dull, plain one. Snubbed, she turns to books for solace and improvement - not the fiction loved by her mother, but serious moral, philosophical works - and in a vicious circle finds herself to be more of an oddity than ever

In The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow revisits the familiar events in Longbourn from a new perspective - that of 'middle' sister Mary. She's dismissed by her family as dull, boring, prim, She looks set for life as a spinster. But with her sisters married Mary gradually starts to come into her own. Mary is now 'allowed' a romance of her own - and even a choice of suitors; a young eligible gentleman who seems a perfect match and a tempting alternative who might just prove to be incredibly wrong for her.


There are a lot of Pride and Prejudice spin-off novels and films (and I'm a sucker for them) - some work, some don't. This definitely does. The setting remains Austen's Regency England, and for the most part Hadlow captures the style and feel of Austen's original work. Where it differs is in following marriages past the wedding ceremony, and in exploring the restricted options open to the un-married gentlewoman of limited means. In Austen's world it's taken as read that a young lady should marry, but not much thought is given to the alternative. As Charlotte Lucas outlines to Mary Bennet what the future of an 'old maid' looks like, we can see why she herself was so eager to grasp her chance of marrying, even when the prospective groom was Mr Collins.


I suspect few Austen fans would agree wholeheartedly in their interpretation of, say, Mr Bennet's attitude to his family, Mrs Bennet's obsession with marrying her daughters to the richest men available, or the hasty marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins, but an author taking these characters and giving them life beyond the original text has to pick an interpretation and stick to it - and it may not coincide with yours. Personally I felt Mr Bennet, and even Lizzie, were dealt with a little harshly - though, of course, I've previously only seen them from Lizzie's biased viewpoint - and a few words from Caroline Bingley throw the whole view of the Elizabeth/Darcy romance on its head, when she says that in feigning disinterest, Lizzie couldn't have played him better.

All in all this is an excellent addition to the works inspired by Pride and Prejudice. I loved it, and would definitely recommend unless you're an Austen purist.

I really loved this book. It was a long but very good read. I loved it just as much as I loved Pride and Prejudice. I loved how Mary's character was both portrayed and developed. You can tell Janice Hadlow is a historian by the way the domestic and social areas are beautifully described. I came to like Mary although I did feel sorry for her in equal measure. A really great read.

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Mary Bennet. She is bookish, unsociable and fails to find enjoyment in discussions about marriage and clothing… we have a lot in common!

For that reason I was intrigued to pick up this book, which is not exactly a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but picks up the same characters and events from Mary’s perspective and then runs further with them.

We start with Mary’s childhood and then a quick skip through the events of Jane Austen’s original novel before moving ahead to a future where Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia and Kitty are all safely married off and reproducing in domestic bliss. In the first part of the story, the earlier years, the book became quite hard to read in places due to Mary’s excessive self-loathing and her fervent failed attempts to ‘improve’ herself. Once we had cleared the known territory and branched out into the unknown future, however, Mary came into her own, gradually beginning to reformulate the ideas she grew up with and use her very good brain to think for herself.

Her journey of discovery comes cleverly via a tour of the state of matrimony, via intimate observations of Mr and Mrs Bingley, Darcy, Collins, Gardiner and of course her own parents, Mr and Mrs Bennet. Mary gets plenty of opportunities to witness the ups and downs of married life (I do wonder what she would have made of the Wickhams!), and come to her own conclusions about the pursuit of happiness within that field. Finally she gets the chance to forge her own romantic destiny as not one but three suitors hove in and out of her horizons. The question is whether she has learnt enough – from books and from experience – to make the right choices for her very individual heart and mind.

Janice Hadlow captures Austen’s writing style very neatly, and in both that respect, and the faithfulness to original events, this book forms a lovely homage to the beloved classic. That said, it is also a love story in its own right, and provoked far stronger emotions in me than Austen’s mannered romantic comedies ever did. I burned with outrage, pity and embarrassment for poor Mary; felt sadly sympathetic to her trials, and a very satisfied relief when she finally began to like herself and admit she deserved her own happily ever after. Because, whether universally acknowledged or not, with or without the wedding bells, who wouldn’t want one of those?





They would never understand how she felt. How could they? Their beauty was as much a part of them as an arm or a leg. It was impossible for them to imagine life without it. Under its protection, they would leap and spring and dance into their future; she, on the other hand, would trudge stolidly forward, placing one foot in front of the other without joy or grace. She had learned from Mrs Bennet that without beauty, no real and lasting happiness was attainable; and it never occurred to her to question what she’d been taught.

– Janice Hadlow, The Other Bennet Sister


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

There have been many revisits and retelling of Pride & Prejudice, but this one has a very interesting starting point: It focuses on Mary, the middle Bennet sister that seemed such a ridicule character in the original novel. This novel offers a new perspective on the events of Pride and Prejudice.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the classics can never be bettered and nobody should attempt to mess with them. As a purist I love my classical fiction and think it needs to be left alone at all costs...however, I was intrigued about this book.

It tells the story of Mary Bennet - the sister that Pride and Prejudice just kind of ignored really. Starting with her early life growing up the household, her initial closeness to Jane and Elizabeth and then the slow dissolving of their relationship over the following years, culminating in her almost estrangement from Lizzie in particular. This book charts her take on some of the events from Pride and Prejudice and then goes on to what happens to her as she finally steps out of her sisters shadows and develops in her own right, away from the constant criticism of her mother. It was fascinating to see how the other sisters just faded into the background in this novel with barely a mention of them at all.

It is interesting to see Mary have two different suitors and to struggle with keeping to conventions dictated for those times, however, if I was being hyper critical of that, the Mary from the original book wouldn't have dreamed of breaking any social conventions. Other characters make a welcome return too, particularly the Gardiners and Mr Collins, who becomes less of a comic figure and more someone to be pitied for the plight that he finds himself in.

I was a little disappointed to find some lines of dialogue lifted straight from Pride and Prejudice in scenes that virtually replicated what had happened in the original book just with different characters. I am thinking specifically of the appearance of Lady Catherine De Burgh, and a conversation that Mary has with her mother about one of her suitors in which her mother says 'It is a truth universally acknowledge that a single man of great fortune must be in want of a wife' - it just felt a little too contrived for me really.

On the whole though I did enjoy this book and kept sneaking away during the day to read just a few more pages. It certainly captured the flavour of the original and did feel the closest to a continuation of the story than any of the other spin off type books that I have read. Trust me when I say that this really won't disappoint you if, like me, you loved and adored Pride and Prejudice.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable read featuring many familiar characters from Pride and Prejudice. I found it a little hard-going to begin with but once I got into it made good progress.

It was interesting to see how the author extrapolated various strands from the original novel and developed them, as well as introducing new characters and storylines.

Without giving anything away I was also pleased by the final outcome.

I'd be interested to read more by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This book is split into a number of parts, the first of which covers the events of Pride and Prejudice but from Mary’s perspective. Seeing this story through Mary’s eyes it’s almost painful (especially if you come with all the baggage I do), it all feels stupendously unfair and Mrs Bennet’s obsession with looks and with finding wealthy husbands is all the more difficult to stomach. I disagree with some other reviewers who have said that this book doesn’t feel like the original characters. I think it is fair to say they feel very different to how they are in the original but it certainly felt like a fair interpretation of their actions through the viewpoint of the character that Janice Hadlow has given to Mary. I’m a firm believer, even more so now, that you’d get a drastically different book from the perspective of every character in Pride and Prejudice (Mr Bennet’s would largely be irritation let’s be honest). This is Mary’s perception of events and they are sad.

In this early section, and later in the book, I was pleased that Janice Hadlow developed the relationship between Mary and Charlotte Lucas, who is, in many ways, very similar to Mary. A lot of this book is about Mary’s character being shaped by the actions of others and her perceived expectations, so to have Charlotte as an example of what might become of her was a powerful aspect of the story. 

It’s when this book moves into later times that I felt the story really come into its own. We jump forward in time to a few years after the events of the original book and see Mary dealing with being an unmarried woman after the death of her father. You do get a glimpse into how the lives of the main characters from the original book have been getting on, but Mary’s life starts to go in different directions and quite quickly things move into new settings and new characters are introduced. 

At its core, this book is about self-acceptance (which I don’t think will come as a surprise). I thought I would get annoyed by the story going into a romance, would it invalidate Mary to define her through a relationship, but actually I think it works. I think making it clear that Mary is worthy of the same romantic story as her older sisters was a really powerful move and I’m not going to lie I may have shed a tear or two when things got particularly lovely or perilous. 

I will say, I think this book is possibly a little bit too lengthy, I think the early part could have been cut down slightly (it is a little bit too much like reliving Pride and Prejudice and the added value of Mary’s perspective could have been given a little more succinctly) and there are some parts of the story that drag a little bit, but that may be more symptomatic of my impatience - I WANT TO KNOW SHE ENDS UP HAPPY!

I’d recommend this to anyone who has felt like Mary got a raw deal. It’s not an easy book to get through, I spent a lot of it feeling incredibly sad, but the catharsis towards the end is all the more powerful as a result.

My rating: 4 / 5 stars

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

The Other Bennet Sister is out now!

However enjoyable I thought I had seen my fill and read more than enough of the Bennet sisters to last me a lifetime but this novel caught me by surprise. Told from the viewpoint of the middle sister, Mary, it satisfies the fan of the original and yet provides a refreshingly different angle to this so-familiar story.

Thank you to Mantle (Pan Macmillan) and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read full of interesting character development and intrigue for the hidden Bennet sister as she steps out of her sisters' shadows and finds the true meaning of happiness, self-acceptance and overall love.

A full review can be found on my blog. The link is below.

I actually award this book 3.5 stars but unfortunately, the rating system provided by NetGalley does not support this.

I always wondered what would happened with Mary and felt there was more to her and she would be central to my own plot if I ever got around to writing a novel involving the Bennets, so was intrigued and nicely surprised by the premise. I loved that Mary got a voice and routed for her to find herself throughout thr book which is beautifully written at times. Well done and thankyou to @netgalley for the arc copy.

In The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow rehabilitates the unfairly maligned Mary Bennet in this uneven but pleasant story. There's a little insight into growing up "the plain one" amongst beautiful sisters and an explanation for Mary's bookish habits as well as the reasons and ramifications of her well-known faux pas in Pride and Prejudice. Hadlow tries to keep the section that covers the events of Austen's original short but it still feels to long and target tedious, as do the brief appearances of Jane and Lizzy, particularly because the dialogue is oddly sparse. After this Mary starts to come into her own as she tries to find a place and herself as the only unmarried Bennet girl. The appearances of other characters, the Collinses, the Gardiners, Miss Bingley, are more successful and are used well to show up Mary's narrative. Mary herself is sympathetic, and developed into a character whom it's nice to spend time with and easy to become invested in. Hadlow's fondness is infectious but the story suffers from overused tropes that don't ring quite true, having more in common with your average rom-com than Austen and it certainly lacks her trademark wit and humour. The main problem is that of length, it's just far too long and it feels like several of the themes and conversations are rehashed ad nauseum. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant enough read and just about manages to avoid reading as fan fiction. There are no surprises in the plot but the familiarity is a comfortable one That means this is a pleasant, if not particularly significant return to a much-loved setting.

If I’m being brutally honest, I had this book pegged for my DNF pile. At six-hundred and seventy odd pages, it’s a chunky read, and with the lethargy of the Christmas break still looming large, I just didn’t think I would have the willpower to fight my way through something heavy.

But, I gave it a go and I could not have been more wrong. The Other Bennet Sister completely and utterly enchanted me from the very beginning.

The novel focuses on Mary Bennet, the ‘forgotten’ sister who sits quietly in the background as her sisters dazzle society and procure themselves husbands. The first part of the novel takes place during the Pride and Prejudice era, a smart move on the part of the author for as a fan of the original novel, I was able to almost switch off in terms of story and instead become familiar with Mary herself. Those well known events and characters are seen entirely from her perspective, and it is refreshing to have a different set of eyes tell the tale. I most particularly felt the difference with Mrs Bennet. Within P&P she is somewhat ridiculous, here however, her words and actions deeply impact Mary.

This is not just a retelling, however, and for me, the switch to the continuation story began at exactly the right time, my attention had just begun to wane and no sooner had I wondered if this was solely a retelling, and we leapt forward in time and I found myself with Mary post P&P. It was at this moment that this novel really came into its own.

It is such a delight, beautifully Austen-esque in its style and language; both a fitting tribute and also a wonder in its own right. We find out a little more about characters we have known and loved, many of whom come to the fore and enjoy character development of their own. The friendship between Mary and the Collins family is a particular highlight and an early catalyst of sorts for much of the evolution Mary undergoes throughout the book.

One of the things I loved about the character of Mary is the way in which the author remains true to who she is throughout. There is change, but it is organic, grown of a natural maturity and a greater understanding of the world which she inhabits. Despite living in a world where women are required to be little more than ornaments to furnish the arm of a gentleman, she remains studious and staunch in her desire to learn. It feels to be such a faithful interpretation of the character Austen intended, and I loved every moment of her journey.

This continuation successfully straddles the ages with a relevant message for anyone who doesn’t quite fit the mould. Powerful in its subtly, Mary had a profound and – I hope – lasting effect on me. Beautifully written, with charming characters both new and old. Its a timeless tale, and one which requires no gimmicks, relying on a strong character driven narrative to make its mark. I quite simply adored it and I cannot more highly recommend.

This book does for Mary Bennet what 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' did for Lydia Bennet - paid homage to the original text, but made you love her, root for her, commiserate with her, and cheer for her when she won her proper ending. There cannot be much higher praise from me.

I loved the exploration of Mary as a younger girl, seeing the Bennet household through her eyes and how she became the awkward, discomforted young woman that we saw in P&P. Hadlow keeps a few key scenes in so we can see them from another perspective which I thoroughly enjoyed. Seeing her grow, watching her strive to be the best she could be at the things she was good at, so completely determined to shine where she could, was hard but brilliant. Watching her mother and sisters repeatedly take her down was heartbreaking in a way that wasn't so hard in P&P, because of course, we're in Lizzy's head and Mary is relegated to an embarrassment.

I appreciated her consideration of Mr. Collins, her insightfulness at a fairly young age, and knowledge of her perceived place in the world - while at the same time it devastated me.

But when we are taken to Gracechurch Street, well, the Mary that was long buried has been freed and it was so uplifting.

One thing that frustrated me, when I got to the 80% mark a Tragic Misunderstanding occurred. Wherein our heroine notices that something is amiss, knows she can right the wrong, but elects not to and thus perpetuates the suffering everyone feels. I hate this trope, so much. And maybe Ms. Austen pioneered it, it was certainly in keeping with the style and the story, but in this particular instance - well used or not - I was just thinking "Surely Mary has suffered enough, let her go gladly to the altar with no stumbling blocks!" But no, she must stumble and suffer. Ah well.

The book is quite long and does drag a little around the middle but I do urge you to power on because it really does pick up again. Hadlow's writing style here is a very good Austen imitation, the turns of phrase and descriptions feel very like reading another Austen novel.

And regarding Mary's much improved prospects? Headcanon accepted.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan/Mantle for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ by Janice Hadlow in exchange for an honest review.

It was published on 9 January and as the audiobook, narrated by Kristin Atherton, was available when I began reading, I listened to this in conjunction with reading the eARC.

“In Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable.”

In ‘The Other Bennet Sister’ Janice Hadlow focuses on Mary and shows another side to her. She is an introverted young woman with an interest in music and books. The first part of the novel covers the events of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ from Mary’s perspective. In the subsequent three parts we follow Mary’s story in the years following as she slowly finds her place in the world. A number of minor characters from ‘Pride and Prejudice’ make an appearance. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers.

I feel that Janice Hadlow has not only written a wonderful homage to Jane Austen but then continued the story of Mary Bennet in a fashion that is very much in keeping with the style and tone of the original.

For me this novel was perfection. It is quite long though I barely noticed as I was so caught up in Mary’s story.

A novel that I expect will be very popular with readers who love Jane Austen. I have already been enthusiastically recommending it to friends.

I do like a spin-off that either continues the story beyond the events of the original or delves more deeply into the lives of peripheral characters. Like Carrie Kablean’s What Kitty Did Next, this book focuses on one of the younger Bennet sisters – in this case Mary – whose marital destiny is not sewn up in Pride and Prejudice. Janice Hadlow paints such a miserable existence for Mary that my heart went out to her. Not for the first time I thought Mrs Bennet needed a good slap! The highest compliment I can pay is that parts of this book felt like chapters written for the original but edited out; they felt to me authentic and true to Austen’s characters, particularly Miss Bingley in whom I still can find no redeeming features.